A Tourist Guide to Systems Studies of Rural Innovation

This ‘Tourist Guide’ is a resource document charting the emerging landscape of systems studies on rural innovation. Note that the term ‘rural innovation’ is used rather than ‘agricultural innovation’ in recognition of the wider scope of knowledge applications that are important in contemporary rural livelihoods. There is a growing body of literature dealing with rural innovation with some research groups developing ideas over the last 20 odd years on the topic. Contemporary literature has also drawn inspiration from diverse fields of scholarship, and with these a rich diversity of interpretations and perspectives have emerged in the form of a number of distinct schools of study with their own epistemological origins. While not exhaustive, this document reviews and provides an annotated bibliography of what we consider some of the key publications contributing towards the current outlook on rural innovation. The material in the document was originally collected between December 2005 and February 2006 and updated again in 2007.